Monday, January 25, 2016

MY FAVORITE MONTH IS DISMEMBER

Goddamn, the old one was complex. I don't know why I ever thought it was simple.

Anyway, this was all precipitated by a D&D game I ran last night, wherein a couple of players died, going from full health to dead dead dead in one fell swoop, with no chance to run away.

Yeah, they were first level, and first level is supposed to be squishy. Was there sub-optimal playering? Perhaps. Was there sub-optimal DMing? Perhaps. Was there sub-optimal dungeon design? Perhaps. But I can't fix any of those things right now. What I can fix right now is system.

Compared to my old Death and Dismemberment Table, this one is. . .

Smaller. Only 3 lines instead of the prior 6. Why did I think I needed 6? Christ.

About 20% fewer dice to roll, on average.

Less superfluous. (Of course you fall over if you get your leg hacked off, why even waste a fucking entry stating that?)

Split Personality. Roll up a new level 1 character that uses your current physical stats, but new mental stats. The class must be different from your current one. Each session, alternate between these two characters, each one tracking XP separately.

I dunno. I think there's less chaff and more good, usable stuff.

But shiny new thing is the Fatal Wound thing. That's what I'm going to replace "Dying" and "Instant Death" with. We'll see how it works out.

I don't think I've posted pictures in a while, have I? Here's a bunch.